ive been on cipralex for about...4 weeks?...i went from 10 then 15 and now 20...she says the thereaputic level is typically 20 but i feel like it just not gonna work...ive tried 4 other meds...SSNRI: Effexor-worked for a bit but i seemed to always be increasing every couple weeks till it just stopped working, wellbutrin-anxiety went through the roof, cymbalta-hell drug, made me so sick...shes since moved me to SSRI's cause at 450mg of effexor i was feeling like a superhero and wanting to fly haha i loved it though...but now im on cipralex..its lexapro basically..she said if i dont feel anything by next week she might switch to mood stabilizers and shes had thoughts of me possibly being bipolar..but i dont know what to do anymore..has anyone else had this much trouble trying to find a medication that actually worked for them consistantly?

I had loads of difficulty finding the right medications that worked for me. Took me 3 years to get the the right 'cocktail'. Don't give up. Follow what the doctor is saying and give it another week and if it doesn't work, there are always other options.

i see that you're diagnosed with bipolar...were you mixed diagnosed before getting your diagnosis? i dont know why but i have this emense fear of not wanting to be diagnosed with bipolar for some strange reason...

netsavy you said "Follow what the doctor is saying".. well i have a question, what if your doctor is saying the wrong things? a lot of doctors tend to over medicate, or use too high of a dosage. People are so unique, and many doctor's go by the books, and only the books. Which is actually, pretty ridiculous. I'm a little person, I am very sensitive to meds and the dosages. and when im medicated too much i will make it known! and i have tried preventing over medicating by just not taking meds, haha, i know, sounds silly..

I don't know what to do about doctors saying the wrong thing, but I do know that lexapro @ 20mg is a safe dose. They do make 20mg pills. Failing to respond well to antidepressants I think is one sign that there may be a bipolar diagnosis, but I'm unsure of that.

thanks guys...but too my worst fear the bipolar diagnosis is on its way..seeing a specialist soon for that second opinion part of it all but from what my psych has heard and seen and what this other specialist has heard about me they seem pretty keen on that diagnosis

poop poop

Hi britbrat - I have also tried quite a few different anti-depressants over the last 20 years or so and honestly can't say that any of them ever helped. Prozac, Imipramine(sp), Effexor, Zoloft... Now I'm on Celexa 60mg and still having very depressed days. So my pdoc has just started me on a mood stabilizer, Lamictal (sorry, can't say yet if it's working) which I guess is a pretty standard next step when antidepressants are insufficient. I'm in therapy as well, which is a very important part of my treatment - I don't believe that ANY pill is going to solve all of my mood problems.

Anyhow, no one has mentioned bipolar to me, but it's something I've looked at myself for a while. Fact is, my moods can swing pretty wildly for no apparent reason. The thing is that I never have a very euphoric high, so bipolar is not obvious. My "normal" is depressed. Down from there is a severe depression. UP from there is .... energetic, able to get things done, perhaps even a little cheerful. That's as good as it gets, and it doesn't last long. So my moods are all over the place, perhaps cycling too rapidly even to be typical bipolar. Honestly I don't really care one way or the other or what name they want to give my "condition". I'd just love to feel better, and I have high hopes in the mood stabilizer.

My 'fear' about being MISdiagnosed as bipolar has to do with no longer receiving treatment for what is really wrong with me. Too many Dr.s mistake ADD/ADHD as bipolar. If you think it's difficult being treated for ADD/ADHD, try addressing the ADHD symptoms when you're being treated for bipolar! ! ! I was seeing a specialist who had me on Adderall. The thing is, it took a lot of it to reach an affective dose. i can't affor the $75 a month Dr. bill and so am stuck using discount clinics which have been bad experiences. i can't get ANY of them to prescribe Adderall....AT ALL. It works for me but takes 400mg/day. I got tired of popping pills all day but at least it helped me to lead a more normal life. I'm struggling to get there again one day. Also have tried most meds in the book with NO success except for the Adderall. Gov Regs really bite.

ive been on cipralex for about...4 weeks?...i went from 10 then 15 and now 20...she says the thereaputic level is typically 20 but i feel like it just not gonna work...ive tried 4 other meds...SSNRI: Effexor-worked for a bit but i seemed to always be increasing every couple weeks till it just stopped working, wellbutrin-anxiety went through the roof, cymbalta-hell drug, made me so sick...shes since moved me to SSRI's cause at 450mg of effexor i was feeling like a superhero and wanting to fly haha i loved it though...but now im on cipralex..its lexapro basically..she said if i dont feel anything by next week she might switch to mood stabilizers and shes had thoughts of me possibly being bipolar..but i dont know what to do anymore..has anyone else had this much trouble trying to find a medication that actually worked for them consistantly?

I have had more than my share of trips to hell and back trying to find a remedy so that I can finally get it together.

Anyway, throughout years of incessant, frighteningly OCD'ish research of trying to attain a better understanding of my afflictions I have some info that maybe you know or not. Hopefully it can help to some degree.

So, take a look and please don't hesitate if you have anymore questions.

I have used Lexapro before and to be honest SSRI's aren't worth a damn. This SSRI in particular completely blunts dopamine all while inducing what you want to stay away from --> apathy/fatigue. To top it off it interferes with effects of amphetamine. Oh, and Lexapro isn't selective as it claims to be, at best it's very unselective in what it does.

Serotogenics in general interfere with ALL of the excitarory neurotransmitters, especially the KING --> DOPAMINE. This is something you don't want to do when you already have a low baseline dopamine level.

And remember, when your serotonin is higher your dopamine is lower.

I will stop there for now. Other than that, what you are current symptoms/longest, most persisting symptoms? How's your current health hygiene? Are you taking any supplements or vitamins in conjunction with the prescribed meds?